Saturday, October 26, 2013

Refreshing an Indelible Image - A Sepia Saturday Celebration Repost

Fanfare, please! Sepia Saturday is celebrating its 200th round today and those of us who have participated during that time are celebrating, too, by reposting one of our favorite, earlier Sepia Saturday posts. I first participated in May, 2010, and have published over 60 posts, which makes it terribly hard to choose a favorite. In the early years there were no themes (such fun that way!): we just chose a photo from our collection and wrote about it, then linked up. Thank you to Alan and Kat for creating Sepia Saturday and to Alan and Marilyn for keeping it going. It's been fun.

In my life there have been events that were continually repeated, events I saw so often that I learned them by heart and they became indelible images in my brain. I begin to notice, as time passes and I grow older, that a light fog sometimes comes between me and the memories. And then I see a photograph and the scene is as fresh as the last time I saw it in real life.

Our house was a house of order and part of that order was this closet in our kitchen next to the back door. As soon as we came in the house, we hung our coats and put our hats and mittens on the shelf, ready to wear them when we left again. My mother also stored large, lidded metal cans of sugar and flour in this closet, ready to refill her canisters on the kitchen counter. In the fall, there were always bags of Northern Spy apples sitting on the floor of the closet. They stayed cool and fresh there because the unheated closet was against two outside walls. Apples were our after-school snack -- our only after-school snack. So "you won't spoil your dinner," my mother used to say.

This is my father, Lee Doyle, standing in front of the closet getting ready to leave. Dad always wore a hat when he went outside: summer, winter, rain, snow, heat, humidity, he always wore a hat, though not always the same hat. In summer he wore straw or cotton. In winter he wore felt or wool. His work hats were caps with a brim on the front. He wore those to work at Copperweld Steel or when he was working at home cleaning gutters, mowing the lawn, or painting the house. Otherwise, his hats were always grey or black fedoras. When he was younger the brims were wider; as he grew older, he chose hats with slightly narrower brims (as in this photo). His hats had no feathers.

He took the jacket or coat out of the closet, put it on, adjusted it, then zipped it. Or if it was a sweater, he buttoned it. When he put on his hat I remember him adjusting it just so: it didn't perch, neither did it sit too low, but it was low enough and tight enough that the wind didn't blow it off. He took the car keys from on top of the refrigerator (to the left in this photograph) and then out the door to the car or the garage or to walk to the post office he went. I suspect that because it was April when this photo was taken, it was warm enough outside that he didn't need a jacket.

Things we see thousands of times we learn by heart. By heart I remember my father putting on his jacket and hat. What a commonplace thing to remember. What a commonplace thing to photograph! And yet it brings pleasure -- and sometimes just a touch of melancholy -- to clear the fog and refresh my memory of that small action.

38 comments:

I didn't see this the first time. Perfect choice. I love the opening paragraph -- it captures exactly why I love participating in Sepia Saturday: the revival of memories. Your description of your dad makes me see him too. (And by the way, that was slick how you sneaked a bunch of posts into this one -- wish I had thought of it. LOL)

Thanks, Wendy. Well, I just couldn't decide which post to use: go for the best photo, the strongest memory, the most popular.... I think I linked them more for me as I was trying to decide than assuming others would use the links.

I agree with Helen, this is so well written, and works so well. In fact, you have me picturing my own father standing next to the closet by our front door, doing up HIS coat, and putting on HIS hat. You are so right; the pleasure is immense. Thanks.

Thanks, Boundforoz. I think themes are great for those who would prefer them but I'm less interested in reading 30 or 40 posts about the same topic in one week. Just personal preference, I guess. Thanks for visiting.

I had not seen this before. Many of the things you mention could apply to us/me and our utility room. This houses our apples (hundreds, currently) my outdoor jacket and hat for gardening. Perhaps I should photograph them too. Loved this piece.

It's interesting how Sepia Saturday contributors have similarities in experience or environment and can connect in different ways. Will you make applesauce? Yes, I think you should have someone take a photo of YOU in your utility room, Bob!

Thanks, Patricia. I guess revitalizing memories is what photos are all about, aren't they? When we take a photo we're thinking about the moment but also thinking about the future when we want to remember the moment and see it again.

It is a great thing to remember. My dad always wore a farmer's hat except in his early years had a dress hat for funeral. I never knew what happened to that hat but his nontanned forehead was always there when we took inside pictures of him. A fun blog even remembering the storage of the supplies.

Yes, Jackie, I think older participants who aren't so regular any more have missed posts by the newer participants like you, and vice versa (as you say). It's been fun to meet some of you newer posters. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment.

I wonder who thought to take that photo. I'm so glad they did. I'm sure it has brought so many seemingly simple moments to all our memories. I can see my father now, not usually in a hat, but striding down the street off to work...always whistling.Barbara

Such a picture brings pleasure for the familiar behavior depicted of loved ones in a context that is reassuring. Glad you shared this. As I'm getting older, I also favor hats with narrower brims. Why is that, I wonder?!? :D~ HUGZ

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About Me

Sometimes I want to jump back in time, into the lives of my ancestors. Not to stay, of course -- too many modern conveniences I'd rather not do without -- but to meet them and watch their interactions with each other. Since I can't do that, I spend time learning about them and the times in which they lived. I look forward to meeting them. I've been seriously searching for my ancestors for nearly 8 years. I plan to continue indefinitely.
If you think we might have ancestors in common or you'd like to contact me for any other reason, please email me at myancestorsandme @ gmail.com.